NCAA Officially Clears NIL For Athletes, Several Gators Already Taking Part

With profiting off of Name, Image and Likeness set to become official today, multiple Florida Gators athletes are already taking advantage of their opportunities.

Times are changing around the NCAA starting today. After years of speculation, the NCAA officially paved the way for collegiate athletes to make money off of their name, image and likeness. Several Florida Gators football players are already set to take advantage of the ruling, too.

"This is an important day for college athletes since they all are now able to take advantage of name, image and likeness opportunities," NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement.

"With the variety of state laws adopted across the country, we will continue to work with Congress to develop a solution that will provide clarity on a national level. The current environment -- both legal and legislative -- prevents us from providing a more permanent solution and the level of detail student-athletes deserve."

The ruling will allow athletes to profit by way of monetizing social media, businesses, advertising campaigns, autographs and many more. No longer will athletes be punished for signing a photo at a bar for a few fans, making money in the process.

The changes will go into effect today, however, state mandates will need to be followed for those states that already have NIL rules in place. In some states, players will not be able to sign deals to do with alcohol, tobacco, gambling, etc. The players will also need to follow rules and expectations set by the given university itself.

For more information on the rules specific to the University of Florida, click here.

For some Florida athletes, students are already taking advantage of the ruling. Those players include defensive tackle Gervon Dexter, receiver Jacob Copeland, linebacker Derek Wingo and safety Trey Dean. There are plenty more athletes that will likely be able to take advantage, too, namely quarterback Emory Jones, defensive end Zachary Carter and many more.

For Dexter, Copeland and Dean, the trio has already created their respective clothing lines, making sure to advertise them via social media earlier this week. For Dexter, he is a rising sophomore who was regarded as one of the best defensive linemen to enter the collegiate ranks in 2020.

Don’t wait till they all sold out website will be up and ready tomorrow pic.twitter.com/PJdhOzuaw1

— Gervon Dexter SR (@GervonDexter) June 30, 2021

Copeland, a redshirt junior, will likely use this year as his final opportunity to showcase his talents this year as the team's only returning starting receiver.

Other players such as Wingo will likely use their influence with social media to promote brands and earn based on that. For Wingo, he currently has a profile on a newly launched website called Jenloop.com, that allows brands - or anyone, to create and use the athletes as conduits to promote whatever their creation is for a fee.

The Florida Gators will benefit mightily from the new ruling, especially when it comes to broadcasting for its athletes. According to SkullSparks, Florida is the No. 1 SEC program in terms of main athlete department account following which is at a staggering 2.2 million followers across social media.

Total social followings for SEC programs (main Athletics Department accounts, not individual sports). @FloridaGators lead with 2.2 million. https://t.co/VIP8mcG37G pic.twitter.com/DBNS3dpQkW

— SkullSparks (@SkullSparks) June 29, 2021

It should be expected that many athletes across the nation will immediately begin the process of earning money based on their name, image, and likeness. This will create an immediate way for athletes to actually earn money while participating in collegiate athletes, something they've been fighting for, for years.